In this issue of the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Listserv, March
5, 2012:
1. Did You Know? Biosafety Program/Training Updates
2. Mark Your Calendars: April Colloquium
3. Don’t Let This Happen During YOUR Research Project!
4. 30 Million Map Pro and MAPP Gas Cylinders Recalled
5. Revised Safe Operating Procedure
---------------------------------------------------------1. Did you know? Biosafety Program/Training Updates
The National Institutes of Health, Office of Biotechnology Activities recently
conducted a site visit to evaluate UNL’s biosafety program. While their findings
were largely positive, they did recommend that UNL enhance their training
program for all faculty and staff that conduct research that is subject to UNL’s
Biosafety Guidelines (http://ehs.unl.edu/documents/Biosafety_Guidelines.pdf).
Several training modules are available on the EHS web page
(http://ehs.unl.edu/onlinetraining/).
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ALL employees working at Biosafety Level 1 containment must complete
“Biosafety Basics”
ALL employees working at Biosafety Level 2 containment must complete
“Biosafety in the BSL-2 Lab”
All employees working with recombinant DNA must complete “NIH
Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules.”
All employees working with potentially infectious human blood, body fluids
or organ, cell, or tissue culture, or cultures of Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV) or Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) must complete “Bloodborne
Pathogens.”
Refresher training is also required. Persons who are required to take
Bloodborne Pathogens training must complete this module every year. This is a
regulatory requirement.
Refresher training in the other modules is accomplished by annual review of the
laboratory Biosafety Manual. Principal Investigators or their designee shall
document this annual review. Review the EHS Safe Operating Procedure
(SOP) Preparing a Laboratory Biosafety Manual for guidance.
Spills and Disposal of Biohazardous Materials
The following Safe Operating Procedures were recently updated to specifically
state that the SOPs apply to recombinant DNA-containing materials.
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Disposing of Biohazardous Materials, including Recombinant
Nucleic Acids.
Spill and Exposure Response for Biohazardous Materials, Including
Recombinant Nucleic Acids. This SOP was also updated to specifically
incorporate guidance on proper exposure response procedures.
These updates were recommended by NIH/OBA during their site visit at UNL.
If you have questions related to biosafety at UNL, contact Matt Anderson,
Biosafety Officer, manderson11@unl.edu or 402-472-9554.
Resources:
 Preparing a Laboratory Biosafety Manual SOP http://ehs.unl.edu/sop/sbio-preparing_biosafety_manual.pdf
 Disposing of Biohazardous Materials Including Recombinant Nucleic Acids
SOP http://ehs.unl.edu/sop/s-bio-dispose.pdf)
 Spill and Exposure Response for Biohazardous Materials (including
Recombinant Nucleic Acids)
(http://ehs.unl.edu/sop/s-bioclean_spills_biohaz.pdf
 EHS web-based training http://ehs.unl.edu/onlinetraining/
o Biosafety Basics
o Biosafety in the BSL-2 Laboartory
o Bloodborne Pathogens (including HIV/HBV/HCV)
2. Mark Your Calendars: April 18, 2012 (Spring) Colloquium
The next Laboratory Safety Colloquium is scheduled for April 18, 2012. Dan
Olsen, CHMM, and Patrick Dussault, Ph.D., will share their expertise on "Safe
Handling: Unstable, Reactive & Energetic Chemicals."
Be sure to attend if your laboratory uses chemicals such as: azides, picric acid,
nitrocellulose, peroxide-formers (e.g., ethyl ether, THF, styrene), metal hydrides,
low-molecular weight alkynes, reactive organometallics, or any other energetic
materials.
There will be two sessions (one on each campus) for your convenience. Select
the session you wish to attend and mark your calendar. Pre-registration is not
required.
For information on session locations/times or to suggest future colloquium topics
contact Elizabeth (Betsy) Howe at ehowe2@unl.edu or (402) 472-5488. To
access past colloquia, visit the EHS or Office of Research and Economic
Development (ORED) web site.
Resources:
 Laboratory Safety Colloquium Series
o EHS web site: http://ehs.unl.edu/training/Colloquium/
o ORED web site: http://research.unl.edu/lsi_9-06.shtml
3. Don’t Let This Happen During YOUR Research Project!
In January 2009, a graduate student at UCLA died as the result of extensive
burns sustained in a December 29, 2008 laboratory fire. The student was
working to transfer t-Butyllithium, a highly reactive liquid reagent that catches
fire when exposed to air, when her syringe plunger became separated from the
barrel. The reacting chemical spilled onto her and caught fire.
In April 2011, a Yale student died from strangulation when her hair became
entangled in a chemistry shop lathe. She was working alone.
In October 2011, a University of Florida (UF) student was treated for cuts when
a vial of chemical exploded. The student was transferring approximately 4
grams of a chemical from a scale to a vial. The chemical in this case has the
potential for violent reaction when it becomes unstable or shocked. January 12,
2012, an explosion injured a graduate student and a firefighter in the same UF
lab with the same chemical as the October blast.
The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has taken note of these and other incidents
over the past few years and publically expressed concern with safety in
laboratories of academic institutions.
On December 27, 2011, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office filed
felony charges against the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and
chemistry professor Dr. Patrick Harran in connection to the January 2009 death
of a university lab research associate. The lawsuits cited a California/OSHA
investigative report which concluded that UCLA and Harran did not provide the
graduate student with adequate safety training and did not ensure lab
employees routinely wore proper PPE and lab coats. The report also revealed
that the PI failed to utilize standard operating procedures for the reactant and
failed to make certain that his laboratory personnel wore PPE. Additionally, the
report indicated that that PI acknowledged he did not ask the graduate student if
she was familiar with the reactant or discuss its hazards with her prior to the
incident.
The CSB urges universities to enhance safety in all academic laboratories. In
the October 31 issue of the EHS Listserv, we talked about pre-planning for
laboratory safety. These were the steps reviewed:
 Hazard determination conducted, including physical as well as health
hazards
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Hazard mitigation strategies determined and implemented
Risk assessment considering likelihood of an adverse event and
magnitude of potential adverse effects
Written laboratory procedures and mitigation instructions in place
Communication of and training on hazards/mitigation/procedures
associated with the particular laboratory’s activities completed for all lab
workers
Injuries and “near misses” (which are really “near hits”) reviewed
promptly and communicated to workers to avoid repetition of the causal
factors
Have you completed these steps, whether your laboratory project is just
beginning or has been in progress a period of time? If not, now is the time to
act.
Resources:
 Arizona State University, eh&s services, Laboratory Safety video
http://cfo.asu.edu/ehs-labsafety
 CSB Video, Experimenting with Danger:
http://www.csb.gov/videoroom/videos.aspx?cid=1&F_All=y
 EHS Listserv, 10/31/2011 issue http://listserv.unl.edu/cgibin/wa?A1=ind1111&L=ehsinfo
 EHS Virtual Manual https://scsapps.unl.edu/VirtualManual/
 EHS Safe Operating Procedures http://ehs.unl.edu/sop/
 EHS web-based Chemical Safety and other training
http://ehs.unl.edu/onlinetraining/
 Laboratory Safety Colloquia http://ehs.unl.edu/training/Colloquium/
 The National Academies Press - Prudent Practices in the Laboratory,
Handling and Disposal of Chemicals (an NRC resource)
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4911
 OSHA Laboratory Safety Guidance
http://www.osha.gov/Publications/laboratory/OSHA3404laboratory-safetyguidance.pdf
 Felony Charges Sought in UCLA Lab Assistant Death (EHS Today
online-Jan. 26, 2012) http://ehstoday.com/safety/news/felony-UCLA-labassistant-death-0126/
4. 30 Million Map Pro and MAPP Gas Cylinders Recalled
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s February 23,
2012 notice, a large recall of gas cylinders is under way by Worthington
Cylinders Wisconsin, LLC. This is a voluntary recall of 14.1 oz. Map-Pro, 14.1
oz. Propylene and 16 oz. MAPP (Methyl Acetylene Propadiene Stabilized) Gas
Cylinders. The cylinders are approximately 3” in diameter and 11” tall and are
either yellow or black in color.
The seal on these cylinders can leak after torches or other fuel-consuming
equipment is disconnected. This poses a fire hazard. Map-Pro and MAPP
cylinders are used in soldering, brazing, cutting, and welding operations. These
cylinders were sold through various HVAC/plumbing and hardware outlets,
sometimes alone and sometimes as part of a kit (with torch), under various
brand names.
If you have a 14.1 oz MAP-Pro, Propylene or 16 oz MAPP cylinder sold in the
US or CANADA before January 15, 2012, then please follow the following
instructions for disposal and replacement.
If the cylinder has never been connected to a torch or other device, do not use
the cylinder. Return it to the store where it was purchased for exchange or full
refund.
If the cylinder is currently connected to a torch or other device, do not
disconnect it. Take the entire ensemble to the store where it was purchased and
allow them to disconnect the cylinder in preparation for exchange or full refund.
For more information contact: Worthington Cylinders Wisconsin toll free at
866-511-8967 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. EST weekdays or email
MAPCylinderRecall@WorthingtonIndustries.com or visit
http://www.mapcylinderrecall.com/.
5. Revised Safe Operating Procedure
 Automatic External Defibrillators http://ehs.unl.edu/sop/s-AED.pdf
(Added a recommendation to appoint a person to be responsible for AED
inspection and maintenance and a reference to the American Heart Assn.
“Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency
Cardiovascular Care Science”)
Remember...SAFETY IS AN ATTITUDE!
Environmental Health and Safety
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
3630 East Campus Loop
Lincoln, NE 68583-0824
(402) 472-4925
http://ehs.unl.edu